Daily Madden: Is Kaepernick An $18 Million Man?

SEATTLE, WA - JANUARY 19: Quarterback Colin Kaepernick #7 of the San Francisco 49ers shakes hands with quarterback Russell Wilson #3 of the Seattle Seahawks after the Seahawks defeated the 49ers 23-17 during the 2014 NFC Championship at CenturyLink Field on January 19, 2014 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)

Quarterback Colin Kaepernick #7 of the San Francisco 49ers shakes hands with quarterback Russell Wilson #3 of the Seattle Seahawks after the Seahawks defeated the 49ers 23-17 during the 2014 NFC Championship at CenturyLink Field on January 19, 2014 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)

SAN FRANCISCO (KCBS) – After three years as a San Francisco 49er, including two as the starting quarterback who led the team to two NFC Championship games and a Super Bowl, Colin Kaepernick is reportedly looking for a pay increase to around $18 million a year.

That would put his salary among those of the NFL’s elite QBs.

“You kind of get like three years with these young guys when you get them pretty cheap,” John Madden told the KCBS Radio morning crew.

Kaepernick’s current base salary is just under $1 million.

“The 49ers have had Kaepernick cheap,” Madden said. “Seattle has Russell Wilson cheap. The bad news about them being starting quarterbacks and getting them cheap is that the next step is a big expense… (like) Russell Wilson will be next year. We’ll start hearing about him pretty soon too I think.”

Madden expects Kaepernick to stay with the 49ers.

“Whatever the going rate is, they have to sign Colin Kaepernick. There’s no getting around that. I mean, they’re not going to let him go or they’re not going to trade him. So they have to do it. Now whether you do it now or later, at some point they have to get to an agreement.”

Daily Madden

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